John Duke, creator of the WaterRower, was inspired to try his hand at invention while working at a subsidiary for U.S. Steel. He wanted to make an indoor machine that felt as much like real rowing as possible, with a focus on aesthetics. It took him two years to get the design right, moving past failed ideas such as a flipper in the tank instead of a clutch. What began as a series of doodles at his desk turned into a sculptural piece of exercise equipment that upends expectations in two ways: by bringing water indoors, and by looking elegant and artful when stored.

Now back to the aesthetics, this version of WaterRower’s natural wood line of rowers comes in beautiful Black Walnut, which the company chose for its superior sound and vibration absorption. It’s hand-made in the USA and comes with excellent warranties and customer service. Overall, WaterRower is known for the quality of their rowing machines and the Classic is no exception. And if you do want to get this rower just as an attractive conversation piece, it easily stores upright against a wall. That said, we strongly recommend using The WaterRower Classic Rowing Machine for fitness, not just eye-candy.

However, I own an air rower and have zero worries about maxing out it’s ability. I can completely exhaust myself on any type of workout. Air and water rowers are the chosen resistance type by Olympic athletes and any athlete looking to train their full-body cardio. I don’t think they would choose this resistance type if they felt they could max it out.

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This is a company known for quality as well as stewardship for over 20 years. WaterRower hand-crafts their rowing machines to be more than just a workout machine, but also a work of art as well. Also, WaterRower is and has been on the cutting edge of environmental sustainability with their use of the best hardwoods coming from renewable forests. We’re in excellent hands here.
Meticulous care is taken in the creation of each rowing machine, ensures the WaterRower ethos of elegant design and American craftsmanship is evident whether in use or in storage. The soothing sound of our patented water resistance is both blissful and motivational. Creature-comforts can be found throughout, from the ergonomic handle, remarkably comfortable seat cushion and user-friendly performance monitor, you will find yourself searching out reasons to "sneak in" an added WaterRower workout into your day. When finished, the WaterRower stores with ease, while blending seamlessly into any environment, ensuring your design and décor values are never compromised by your fitness lifestyle.
1.) I keep reading about cracks and leaks that develop in the water tank. WaterRower even offers a tank repair kit for this very issue. It seems to me that this is a design flaw that they refuse to address, instead offering a fix for when it eventually occurs. Have you seen these tanks to eventually leak? I’m surprised they haven’t tried a one-piece tank.
As I mentioned, the rowing experience with the WaterRower is amazing. I bought the rower for myself, but my wife was curious and decided to try it out. She loves it, and now rows almost daily. We have a treadmill that neither of us has used since we started rowing - the WaterRower is a much better workout and much more enjoyable at the same time. It's easy to adjust the intensity, pace and duration of your exercise. There is nothing to change on the rower (* see note below), you just row harder or faster, adjust how far you lean forward and back during your stroke. The WaterRower will keep up with you as your fitness increases, all you need to do is keep throwing more and more at it.